Mayor Nutter Visits Occupy Philly in Middle of the Night
Michael Graber identifies himself as a Republican, but he came to Occupy Philly last night and stayed until the early morning to support his sister, Vanessa. The unemployed construction worker says he can roll with either political party, which was the case when he saw Mayor Michael Nutter stop by the west entrance of City Hall, where Occupy Philly has been...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Philly 311 Epic Fail
Surprise! Philly 311 is a complete failure! (Or, in the words of City Controller Alan Butkovitz, it “didn’t meet any of the key goals established by the Nutter Administration.”) Some key findings: only 7 percent of the 1.3 million calls to 311 in 2010 were monitored. The service was meant to reduce non-emergency calls to 911, though did not. Operators were...
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Mayor’s Office Prepares for Occupy Philly’s Demonstration at City Hall
Police Chief Charles Ramsey (left) and Managing Director Rich Negrin. Mayor Nutter met with representatives of Occupy Philly today, including part of their legal team, to discuss their planned occupation of City Hall starting tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. The administration doesn’t seem thrilled about the impending camp-out/demonstration, which is planning on...
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Republican Brown Has Grievances Over Fox29 Debate Air Time; Files FCC Complaint Against NBC
Mayor Michael Nutter and Republican challenger Karen Brown debated last night. You didn’t see it, because it wasn’t in front of an audience. And it wasn’t on TV. It was taped and will be shown on Friday on Fox, at the prime-time Death Slot of 10:30pm. Karen Brown is not happy about this—never was—but says she wasn’t given a choice. “[The debate]...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Mayor Nutter’s Infomercial Protested by Off-TV Opponent
NBC 10’s infomercial for Mayor Nutter went off without a hitch! He urged people who sent in questions by e-mail and Twitter to pay their taxes and don’t cheat and generally be a good person, just like him. There were actually too many questions for him to get to. But know this (as NBC does): Mayor Nutter tweets! Meanwhile, Republican mayoral candidate Karen...
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Interfaith Coalition POWER Unveils Platform, Director, Theme Song
An interfaith coalition united in praise of one God. About 2,000 people packed the pews at Tindley Temple UMC on Broad Street in Center City last night to celebrate the launch of the interfaith coalition, Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Comprising more than 40 religious congregations across the city, leaders from different creeds...
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In Line with U.S. Conference of Mayors Statistics, Nutter Updates Curfew Plan
Mayor Michael Nutter has doubled-down on his curfew laws that seemed to work so well over the summer. Now, instead of those under 18 being held in after 9pm, your age cluster defines how long you get to hang out in Center City and University City. Those 16-18 years have to be in their home (or another neighborhood) by 10pm; 14 and 15 year-olds have to be in by...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Police Union Clout Going Up?
The police officer’s union could potentially get a lot more money—and by extension, a lot more power. The union is suing to require the city collect contributions directly from police officers’ paychecks (payroll deductions, if you will), instead of 50-50 raffles and the like. Union lawyer money quote: “In the real world in which we live, in order to...
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Mayoral Candidate Diop Olugbala Denounces Nutter’s Curfew Plan
A small crowd gathered on the west side of City Hall this afternoon to catch a speech by Diop Olugbala, who just announced his intention to run for mayor as an independent. They’re there to listen to his denouncement of Mayor Nutter’s plan to fight flash mobs by putting harsh restrictions on misbehaving youth caught breaking curfew. “The curfew is completely...
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Mayor Nutter Releases Flash-Mob Enforcement Tactics
Mayor Nutter meant business this afternoon as he approached the podium in Dilworth Plaza, where a crowd was awaiting word on new measurements by the city to prevent any further violence from a sect of the city’s youth. Basically, Nutter’s had it up to here. He’s through with the excuses of the parents who’ve failed to take responsibility for the actions...
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